iA Writer 2.0 for Windows is Now Available

Two months after a public beta, iA today announced that iA Writer 2.0 is now available, bringing it closer to the Mac version of the app. It’s free to existing paid users.

“As the name implies, iA Writer 2.0 isn’t merely a refresh, it’s an all-singing all-dancing overhaul of the codebase, a total UI refresh, along with many improvements,” the announcement post explains. “A big thank you to all beta testers for their feedback. Last but not least, thanks to our users for their patience. Getting out 2.0 took a while—but it was well worth the wait.”

iA Writer is my favorite overall Markdown editor … on the Mac. The Windows version has always been a pale imitation of the original, a pattern iA is sadly continuing with its latest product, iA Presenter, which is Mac only now, with iPad and iPhone versions in the works. But iA worked to close that gap in 2.0, bringing the Mac version’s dynamic type engine to the Windows app and completely rearchitecting it to be more responsive. So I will of course take another look at it–hope springs eternal–with the understanding that I found the beta version of 2.0 to be an improvement, but still not as good as the Mac version.

In any event, here’s what’s new.

Improved responsiveness. iA split the app’s codebase into two core modules, one that starts immediately and the other that loads in the background. This helps iA Writer 2.0 start up dramatically faster and feel more responsive in use.

UI redesign. Coming as it does from the Mac world and that design aesthetic, iA Writer has always looked and felt a bit odd in Windows. But 2.0 was “redesigned to better fit the Windows 11 aesthetic,” with “loads of UI changes.” But … it’s still iA Writer. It’s a unique app with a minimalist UI.

Tools updates. To bring it closer to the Mac version, iA Writer 2.0 for Windows includes a full width preview modes, smarter snippets with multi-line expansions, an improved and expandable stats indicator, and improved notes and commenting capabilities.

You can learn more about iA Writer on the iA website. And you can see the full list of improvements in version 2.0 on the iA Writer version history site. The app is $29.99 in the US, but you can trial it for free for two weeks.

Note that the Microsoft Store version of the app is still 1.4 as I write this. I assume it will update at some point, but it auto-updated on second launch.